Bill O’Rear (Twitter link) and Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) have reported that Kentucky guard Lamont Butler, who was not selected this week, is going to the Hawks on a two-way contract. After four seasons with San Diego State, Butler—who is renowned for his defensive prowess—transferred to Kentucky in 2024. From 2022 to 2024, he was selected to the Mountain West All-Defensive team three times in a row, and in 2024, he was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Butler, a “super senior,” started all 27 of the Wildcats’ games in 2024–2025. In 26.0 minutes per game, he averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals, with a strong shooting line of.498/.391/.735. All of those shooting percentages were far higher than those from his prior career. If Butler stays on the team long enough for a two-way contract to become completely guaranteed, he would receive about $636K and be able to participate in up to 50 NBA regular season games.
The Hawks are carrying over Daeqwon Plowden on a two-year, two-way contract and have tentatively filled all three of their two-way spots after earlier agreeing to terms on a two-way agreement with Eli John Ndiaye. But because they don’t count against the cap, those places frequently stay open until the regular season begins.
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